This prawn wonton recipe produces dumplings that are tender and delicate. Pure prawn flavour with a nice crunch as you bite into them, fresh herbs add slight sweetness and citrusy refreshment.
Pair them with a gorgeous umami sesame peanut sauce. You wouldn’t think it’s an obvious choice for prawns but somehow it’s a wondrous combo. The addition of chilli crisp make it the ultimate flavour bomb.
Shanghai was originally a fishing village. Chinese characters of the city’s name Shang (upon) hai (sea) literally translate to “Upon Sea”. Understandably typical cuisine of this province features a variety of seafood.
Cooking Tips
Homemade wontons are easier to make at home then you think and so worth the effort. For this recipe you will need to source good quality prawns (fresh or frozen), then chop half the batch into chunky pieces. This will provide a bouncy texture in contrast to the rest of your seafood bounty which you will slice into a fine mince. Add chopped coriander and shallots for aroma and flavour. There are no fillers just pure prawns, greenery, salt, corn flour and a dash of fragrant shaoxing wine and sesame oil.
Note: no garlic, ginger or soy sauce was used in the filling. This was intentional as the simplicity of the best quality prawns is all the flavour you need.
After spooning the mixture in the centre wet the edges of the square then fold diagonally into a triangle and curl around the tips to touch.
Once wrapped boil your sweet little parcels in water for 3 minutes then strain and serve with sauce.
Serving Tips
The chilli crisp I used has a cult following and once you discover it you’ll understand why. Containing fried soy beans it’s not very fiery but is 80% yummy crispy crunchy bits. You can top up the jar with sesame oil when the chilli oil runs out. You can also use the oil for drizzling. It’s a great topping for many dishes.
Or for a classic combination, serve with vinegar, soy sauce and chilli crisp
Chin la ke xin ye! Enjoy your meal (Shanghainese).
Recipe below…
This is our step by step guide –
Shanghai Prawn Wonton with sesame & peanut sauce & chili crisp
Equipment
- Large Pot
- mixing bowl & measuring cups
- Slotted Spoon
Ingredients
Wonton Filling
- 1 Pack Shanghai wonton wrappers (40 pieces)
- 600 grams Green peeled, deveined prawns
- 1/2 Cup Green shallots (scallions)-finely sliced
- 1/4 Cup Coriander stem finely sliced
- 2 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1 tsp Corn Starch
Sesame & Peanut Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Chinese sesame paste can substitute for tahini
- 1/3 cup Smooth peanut butter Mavers natural peanut butter
- 1/4 cup Roasted sesame seeds
- 1 Tablespoon Sesame oil
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 1 1/2 Tablespoon Rice wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Honey
- 2-3 Tablespoons Water
Topping
- Chili Crisp
Instructions
Wonton Filling
- Remove tail from the prawns. Half of the prawns cut into pieces 1-1.5cm size, the other half mince the prawns with a sharp knife, slicing them finely to start and then running your knife over to create a“mince” prawn texture. (You can also mince your prawns in the food processor in short pulses but make sure you don’t mince them too fine)
- Add both your cut up prawns and prawn mince to a large mixing bowl, add all the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
- Get a small bowl of water ready for folding your wontons. Take 1 teaspoon of mixture and place in the center of the wrapper, run a little water along the edge with your finger, fold the wrapper down diagonally in a triangle pressing the edges together. Then bring the two opposite sides together and pinch together with a dab of water.
- Bring 3L of water to the boil, gently lower the wontons into the boiling water cooking the wontons in two batches.
- Wontons are cooked when they are floating. (about 2-3minutes)
- Serve wontons with peanut sesame dressing & chilli crisp.
Peanut Sesame Dressing
- Dry roast sesame seeds until golden brown and allow to cool
- Using a pestle and mortar, grind roasted sesame seeds
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl with a whisk. Add a tablespoon of water at a time until desired consistency
Notes
- Roasted sesame paste has a deep roasted earthy flavour that Tahini doesn’t have
- Roasted sesame, you can buy pre-roasted sesame in Asian grocery shops but roasting yourself will bring out the best flavour
- I used the Mayvers Natural peanut butter, which is quite thick so you will need to add water to get the desired consistency, if you using kraft peanut butter you may not need water.
